My friend’s bunny, Nana, has died. Need some info.

[Binkles]

Hey everyone.

A good friend of mine, Amber’s, bunny just died this morning, and I need some info on how to treat the possible problem in the future should it ever arise again. It was kind of an unusual situation, so I’ll explain..

 

Nana lives outside in a gazebo, aka hardwood. (><; Her parents are really ignorant when it comes to the knowledge of pets -especially bunnies- despite Amber and mine's encouragement otherwise.) At around 3:00 yesterday afternoon, Nana somehow managed to snag two of her toenails on the hardwood floor and ripped both of them off completely -an event which I likened to having two of your fingers lopped off. Of course, she was bleeding pretty heavilly, so Amber called me in a panic and I rushed over. We tried wrapping it in bandaging tape, but it was her left front paw, so every time she would box to try and clean it, it would just fly right off. We tried a stiptic pencil, but it just wouldn't clot.

At this point I begged her mom to let us take her to the vet…hindsight 20/20, I should have just bunnynapped her and taken her myself. Her mom shrugged it off and used the bullshoot excuse that money was too tight. (Too tight to save a life..?) But after a few more hours, her bleeding seemed to have all but stopped. Maybe a little smear, but not much more. She’d lost a lot of blood and was rather lethargic -not lethargic to the point of not moving at all, but pretty mellow nonetheless.  But I figured that since the bleeding had stopped and we couldn’t take her to the vet, I figured that with some rest indoors and a few days of keeping a close eye out for infection, she’d regain her lost blood and all should be fine. I left for home and went to sleep.

I was wrong.

At around 5:00 this morning, I recieved a phone call from an inconsolable Amber saying that Nana had died.

Long story short, Nana had wound up going into convulsions -my guess is because of the previous night’s blood loss- and tragically…her neck snapped..

I was then told a horrible story…Nana began gasping for air, but it wouldn’t come. She tried to scream but she couldn’t -she could only let out gagging thoart noises.

She began to bleed more, heaved a few more times, and was dead. Amber had tried to set Nana’s neck so that she could get air, but she had no idea how.

So that leaves me with two questions:

1.) What should be done in the event of toenails being ripped off?

and

2.) What should you do if your bunny snaps her neck?

Gosh…this whole ordeal has hit TOO close to home for me. I need to spend some quality time with my baby..

 

[Lion_Lop_Lover]

Oh my goodness.. Condolences to your friend and to you as well… what a horrible thing to have had happened…

I think the only thing really to be done if toenails are ripped off it get to a vet as soon as possible…I’m not familiar with blood supply to the feet/nails but by your story it sounds like there’s quite a bit…
And if my rabbit snapped its neck but was not dead…
god…
rationally one would say : ” Put it out of its misery” by means of like, trauma to the head – but realistically, who in the world could do that? I guess we all could in the situation…

That is horrific…poor Nana…

[Sarita]

Oh, that is so sad. Poor Nana, at least she has gone to the Rainbow Bridge where she will be whole again.

As for toenails being ripped off I would imagine if it was that bad I would have taken her to the vet to have the vet look at it and administer any pain meds as needed – I’m sure it was painful for her. If she was lethargic I would certainly have taken her to the vet after that though.

I would imagine her head snapped for some other reason though – I’ve never had that happen but if I did and I was there I would try my very hardest to get her to a vet but she may not have been saveable at that point. That sounds extremely tragic. I hope she died quickly.

[JK]

That is so just horrible for words.  Someone should have gotten that poor little rabbit to the vet immediately no matter what the cost.  That’s part of the responsibility of owning a pet is to provide medical care should it arise.  I’m so sorry this happened.

[Beka27]

that sounds very traumatic for everyone involved.  i’m sorry your friend had to go thru that, and i’m very sorry that the poor bun had to die in such a horrific way.  like Sarita said, i hope it was quick.

just my opinion…  i would encourage your friend to evaluate whether or not she’s able to care for a pet right now. 

first off, she’s not able to keep the rabbit inside.  while rabbits can live outside, it’s not what is best for them.  it has been proven that they have a much higher quality of life inside with the family.  they are safer and healthier when inside. 

second, with rabbits especially, they can take a turn for the worse in no time at all, and very often it is something that an experienced vet can help with.  it’s a good idea to have some money set aside (or worse case scenario) a credit card reserved for pet emergencies.  i’m not saying she should not have a rabbit by any means… i am suggesting that maybe now is not the best time.  there are many other things she can do to help animals, like volunteering at a rabbit rescue, at least until conditions are more favorable.

it’s a shame that your first post here had to occur during such an awful situation.  but welcome here… i hope you will continue to visit the site.  i’m interested in learning more about you and your rabbit.  is that a pic of you and your baby in your avatar picture?  she’s such a cutie… there’s a special spot in my heart for brown bunnies.

[Gravehearted]

what a terribly tragic and sad thing to happen. I am very sorry for your friend’s loss and it sounds like you really cared about Nana too. I too am sad that your first post here is under such sad conditions.

for normal nicking of a toenail, usually styptic powder works well – or cornstarch in a pinch to stop the bleeding. however since it was two nails being torn out, going to the vet would have been the right choice, since it sounds like she lost a lot of blood.

like you were thinking, perhaps she lost too much blood and it put her body into shock. it just makes me terribly sad to think about 🙁

I would agree with Beka, clearly your friend needs to consider if she can provide a safe home for a rabbit if the parents are unwilling to provide veterinary care or even allow the rabbit to live indoors.

[Binkles]

Yes I fully agree. Fortunately, she’s moving out of her parents’ house and leaving for college in a few months. She and I have spoken and mutually agreed that, although she badly wants another bunny, she will wait to adopt one until after she’s left that hellhole of a house and moves into her new appartment. She’ll be able to properly take care of a bunny there. I think one of the things she regrets most at this point about losing Nana so soon was the fact that she couldn’t facilitate her better…she loved that bunny so much. I couldn’t immagine…with my own baby..

We burried Nana this afternoon by the garden. I think Amber is a little better now that she’s in the ground and she’s had some time to re-gather her thoughts. But naturally, there’s a hole in her heart…I told her that she could come over and snuggle with my bunny any time she wants -an offer which she jumped at.

And yes, the little brown agouti bunny in my avatar is my baby, Binkles. (I’ll post a new thread about her some other time.)

 

[Beka27]

i do truly feel for your friend.  many of us have posted about mistakes we’ve made in the past with our own bunnies, but it’s something she needs to learn from.  education is so important, and it guarantees that the next generation of buns will have even better lives than the last.  i’m glad to hear she’s going to hold out on getting her next rabbit.  sometimes waiting foir the right time is the absolute best thing you can do.

[kralspace]

I’m so sorry to hear about Amber’s bunny, you are a good friend to her. I don’t know if the bunny suffered a seizure, but it sures sounds like the gran mal seizures my son has suffered for years. The convulsions can be very strong, almost to the point of breaking a human bone, nevermind a fragile bunny, the same sounds, not being able to draw breath, trying to fight and scream, etc. and it can easily cause death. I hope that it was a seizure because my son (he’s 20, began having them at 14) says that no matter how awake he looks or how he’s struggling, he has no idea what’s going on. When one hits him, he says he just feels faint and thinks he passes out. ( we finally found the med combination that controls them now)

So hopefully, despite how horrible and helpless it is to watch, maybe the bunny just kinda drifted away when it began and didn’t suffer.

[Binkles]

Yeah, well you can’t feel anything below your neck once it’s broken -so I’m of the mind that between the seizure AND the neck breaking, she didn’t suffer too much. I think she was probably unconscious the moment she started seizing.

I told Amber that, in that respect, it was possibly the fastest and easiest way possible for her to go.

It’s just all so strange…yesterday morning…she was a perfectly healthy little bunny. Many years ahead of her. Just goes to show how fragile life can be..;_;

[Lisa_43]

This is so sad, maybe all could have been prevented if this poor little bunny got to the vet.

 

(((((((((((((((((((((Nana)))))))))))))))

Rest peacefully little one.

[Spacehopper]

Posted By Lisa_43 on 01/14/2008 12:51 AM

This is so sad, maybe all could have been prevented if this poor little bunny got to the vet.

 

(((((((((((((((((((((Nana)))))))))))))))

Rest peacefully little one.

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome Binkles

Binky free little Nana

*hugs* for Amber

[Scarlet_Rose]

What a terrible thing to happen. Poor Nana, binky free sweetie.

[Author]

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